'All Together Now': SXSW reimagines festival for 40th season

The Austin Convention Center has served as the central hub for SXSW since 1993. Due to construction at the convention center, this year’s festival will operate around three central hubs, or clubhouses, for Film & TV, Music and Innovation.

“We want to make it very walkable, very approachable, very friendly,” Lewis said. “[We want] to make sure that we’re building a sense of community and trying to create, truly, a village.”

The convention center is undergoing redevelopment to increase capacity and revitalize the southeast area of downtown. The expansion is expected to increase the center’s annual economic impact to $750 million. The convention center is on track to reopen in the spring of 2029, according to a city official.

What's new

For the first time, all three segments of the festival will take place during the same seven-day period. This year’s theme, “All Together Now,” not only reflects the timeline but also captures the essence of what organizers want to cultivate: bringing people together, according to Lewis.

“We wanted to create the opportunity for all registrants to have the best South-by ever, in the sense that you can truly experience everything ... no matter when you’re here in Austin,” Lewis said.

While the festival timeline is condensed, Lewis said they anticipate a similar number of sessions, foot traffic and economic impact as in previous years.

“[It’s] going to add a lot of vibrancy and activity,” he said. “So we’re expecting a very active environment for SXSW for 2026.”

Visit Austin is the city’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, in charge of marketing Austin as a premier international destination, according to the bureau’s website. Tiffany Kerr, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said she is encouraged by the clubhouse setup.

“What I love about SXSW is how the city becomes a canvas and how a visitor can really see the true character of all of our different diverse neighborhoods,” Kerr said.

By the numbers

In 2024, the festival generated over a $370 million impact on the city’s economy. SXSW officials break this down into three components: attendance impact, operational impact and partner impact in an economic impact report.

When comparing the period of March 6-15 of 2024 and 2025, visitor spending was up 1.3%, and restaurant spending was up 14%, according to Kerr.

“It’s really encouraging,” she said. “It shows the steadiness of SXSW and makes me look forward to 2026.”

40 years of history

SXSW was started in 1986 by Roland Swenson, Louis Jay Meyers, Louis Black and Nick Barbaro, with the first festival taking place in the spring of 1987. Just a few years before Austin was named the Live Music Capital of the World, 177 artists, 700 attendees and organizers joined together to witness what would be the first of many iterations. 1994 marked the first year film and media were added to the festival, and 2025 marked the first SXSW London, according to the SXSW website.

SXSW will host hundreds of performances, premieres and panels March 12-18. The All-American Rejects will kick off the music festival at the SXSW Music Opening Party.

Check out some of the other upcoming events.